Recitation

"Bae dissolves conventional ­linear narrative, as though it were impossible for cause & effect to exist concurrently with such repression." —Joanna Walsh, The National“A challenging yet cognitively engaging & rewarding read.” —David Cooper, The New York Journal of Books"Bae Suah offers the chance to unknow—to see the everyday afresh & be defamiliarized with what we believe we know—which is no small offering." —Sophie Hughes, Music & Literature“It’s beautiful to read, with the flowing monologues, excellently written, allowing you to lose yourself in the text.” —Tony Malone, Tony's Reading ListThe meeting between a group of emigrants & a mysterious, wandering actress in an empty train station sets the stage for Bae Suah's fragmentary yet lyrical meditation on language, travel, & memory. As the actress recounts the fascinating story of her stateless existence, an unreliable narrator & the interruptions of her audience challenge traditional notions of storytelling & identity.Bae Suah, one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean authors, has published more than a dozen works & won several prestigious awards. She has also translated several books from the German, including works by W. G. Sebald, Franz Kafka, & Jenny Erpenbeck. Her first book to appear in English, Nowhere to be Found, was longlisted for a PEN Translation Prize & the Best Translated Book Award.Deborah Smith’s literary translations from the Korean include two novels by Han Kang (The Vegetarian & Human Acts), & two by Bae Suah (A Greater Music & Recitation). She also recently founded Tilted Axis Press to bring more works from Africa, Asia, & the Middle East into English. The meeting between a group of emigrants and a mysterious, wandering actress in an empty train station sets the stage for Bae Suah's fragmentary yet lyrical meditation on language, travel, and memory. As the actress recounts the fascinating story of her stateless existence, an unreliable narrator and the interruptions of her audience challenge traditional notions of storytelling and identity. A mysterious actress turned wanderer shares her story with a nameless emigrant ""chorus"" in this novel exploring memory and personhood